Roasted Carrots with Green Garlic Dip

Even if you haven’t cooked with green garlic, chances are you have seen it at the market and maybe even mistaken it for a scallion.  Harvested during spring, the young allium is fresher, lighter, and slightly milder than mature garlic with a flavor that tends toward onion.   Look for the beginnings of a bulb and flat green leaves (or reach out to me with a snapshot!) to make sure you have the right ingredient for this healthy dip.  Serve it with small rainbow carrots for a vegetable and dip pairing that’s fit for the season.

As a universal spring dip, this recipe also works well with other raw and roasted vegetables, pita, and chips.  When I help families with meal planning, we make healthy condiments such as this to change up classic favorites like roasted carrots in flavorful new ways.   Here, I rested the vegetables on top of the Greek yogurt dip as I knew there would be takers right away, but often I spoon it into a bowl to be shared on the side.

Ingredients

1 stalk of green garlic
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
Kosher salt to taste
1 bunch small rainbow carrots
1 tablespoon olive oil

This recipe scales up easily based on the number of carrot bunches you are serving.  For two bunches, double the amount of yogurt dip, and so on.

How to Make the Green Garlic Dip

Begin by preparing the green garlic yogurt dip.  Peel the outermost papery layer, remove some of the lower leaves, and slice off the very end of the bulb.  For this recipe we will be using the white and light green parts.  Mince these and place them in a small saucepan with 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil.  Heat over medium-low until the garlic just starts to sizzle then cook for 1 minute to gently soften but not brown the garlic.  Remove from heat and allow mixture to sit for 30 minutes, during which time the green garlic will infuse the oil.

In a small bowl combine the yogurt and 1 tablespoon of the minced garlic from the oil mixture.  Strain the rest of the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to separate the oil, pressing gently on the garlic as necessary.  You should have about 1 tablespoon of garlic-infused oil.  Add this to the dip and stir well to combine.  Season to taste with salt.

How to Roast the Carrots

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees while you prepare the carrots.

Small carrots do not need to be peeled, but they should be thoroughly scrubbed and trimmed.  I leave a short bit of stem at the top.  Thoroughly dry them, toss with olive oil to coat on a rimmed baking sheet, and sprinkle with salt.  Bake for about 18 minutes or until the carrots are tender and browning in spots.  The length of time for roasting will depend on a few factors including the size of your carrots, so keep an eye on them.  If you have any particularly small carrots in the bunch, you may need to remove these from the pan sooner.

Serve the carrots with garlic dip on the side or rest them on top using a platter or individual plates.